Te Rapa abandoned

[Wandering Eyes]

The spate of bad luck with New Zealand tracks continued at Te Rapa on Monday, with the abandonment of racing at the Hamilton venue following several slips.

Jockey Sam Weatherley reported his mount, Ess Vee Are, had slipped prior to entering the straight before going on to win the opening race of the card, while Joe Doyle and Warren Kennedy reported that their horses, Oppenheimer and Sabrina Hall, had also slipped in race three, resulting in a decision to abandon the meeting.

“We had the report from Sam Weatherley following race one regarding his horse moving around the final bend. An inspection was carried out following that race and all parties were happy to continue on,” stipendiary steward Brady Jones said.

“Prior to race three we had a brief shower of rain and we had reports from Joe Doyle and Warren Kennedy that both of their horses had moved rounding that final bend, probably from the 500m right through to the 400m, and they felt their mounts were shifting.

“We conducted a further inspection following that and found little pieces of movement, nothing glaringly obvious. The riders went back and had a meeting amongst themselves, and they reported to stewards that they didn’t have the confidence in the track to ride competitively on it, so the meeting has been abandoned.”

Te Rapa had recently been the saviour of the Livamol Classic Day, which was transferred to the track after Hastings was deemed unsuitable for racing following the abandonment of the Arrowfield Stud Plate Day, and its subsequent transfer to Matamata.

A date has yet to be confirmed for the transfer of the Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m), which was set to take place at Te Rapa on Monday, with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing to make an announcement in due course.

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